Archaeological Atlas of the 2 Seas (A2S) is an ambitious project to collate cross-border archaeological maritime heritage. It is delivered by ADRAMAR, HWTMA and VIOE and is co-funded by the European Union. The project is supported by three of the main marine archaeological research and management groups in Europe: DRASSM in France, VIOE in Belgium and English Heritage in the UK.

The overall aim of the four-year project is to map underwater archaeological sites in the shared seas of France, England and Belgium.

Sharing both the Channel and the southern North Sea, these three maritime states have a common heritage drawn from a shared maritime history.

Europe’s foundations rest on wars, trade and alliances. While shipwrecks bear testimony to our often shaky allegiances, underwater archaeological landscapes illustrate our history dating back many thousands of years. This geographical area forms a real link between the countries of northern Europe, constituting a common cultural heritage.

However, to date, despite this shared history the treatment of both documentary and archaeological data is still essentially based at the national or even local level. A2S was born from this lack of exchange. Its aim is to combine the knowledge and information related to the underwater archaeology in our shared seas so that each country has access to all possible information, not just that from its own national resources.

Research related to an English ship wrecked in French or Belgian waters is often not, for example, extended to British archives. This is a frustrating situation for researchers and it is these sorts of limitations that this international project aims to resolve.

A new approach to understanding our shared maritime history is now underway using the combined skills of French, English and Belgian archaeologists.

These three partners are : in France, the lead partner, ADRAMAR (Association for the Development of Maritime Archaeological Research) ; in England, the HWTMA (Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology) ; and in Belgium, the VIOE (Flemish Heritage Institute, Maritime Heritage Unit).

For several years these three countries have collected and mapped data on archaeological sites in their own seas.

One of the first stages of the A2S project is to merge this information to create a comprehensive underwater landscape. This will include the location of known shipwrecks and other underwater archaeological sites, and will be built on in the coming years and organised into a database linked to an online GIS program. This is aimed not only at students, researchers and the general public, but also at heritage management groups in the partner countries.

Alongside this research and data compilation, archaeological teams from the three partners will be deployed to conduct geophysical and archaeological surveys in each of the partner countries. Some of the shipwrecks that have been chosen for study have great significance in terms of shared heritage between the member countries. One such vessel, SS Meknes, was a French ship repatriating troops to France in July 1940 after the Franco-German Armistice. A German E-boat torpedoed the vessel, despite the treaty. It lies in English waters.

By the end of the project, the international team will have amassed a wealth of information for the database which will give a broad range of possible research topics. These could range from the study of ancient trade routes and comparative studies on naval architecture, to the evolution of nautical weaponry and even the study of the possessions that characterised the daily lives of mariners.